Face Down
by goldenspringtime
Summary: AU Summer has the perfect relationship with Zach or does she?


Disclaimer: I do not own The O.C

Summery: AU Summer has the perfect relationship with Zach or does she?

Warnings: Child and Spousal abuse.

After Seth left, Summer started dating Zach. When Seth came back he had asked for another chance, but she had been happy with Zach, and told him there was no chance. She stayed with him, he was the only thing that got her through Marissa's death. The summer after her high school graduation, Zach had asked her to marry him. She had planned to go to college, but she was so in love with him that she couldn't help but say yes.

It wasn't till after their wedding that things changed. At first he was just jealous and paranoid. Always asking her where she was going, and who was going to be there, and if anyone was male he would fly off the handle, saying that she was cheating on him. He even started following her, to her friends house and picking fights with her male friends. She had stopped going out all together because didn't want to have to deal with her husband to be her friend.

She had gotten pregnant and he had been so happy, and so had she , she was still very happy. 9 months later she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. It seemed like a perfect world she had her loving adoring husband and she had her perfect baby boy Matt. Having a baby didn't leave much time for friends anyway. She had thought originally she would be a working mom, but Zach had been able to support her and he hadn't liked the idea of her working. She hadn't fought him too hard, since she loved her son and wanted to be there for him.

Then Zach told her that they were moving because of his job, by that point she wasn't particularly close to any of her friends anyway, so it hadn't been a hard decision. After she moved she settled comfortably into her new life and soon found out that she was pregnant, this time with a girl, she named her Marissa.

When her daughter was about a year old, that's when the jealously and confinement had turned into something more. That's when he had started beating her, at first she had made excuses for him, he worked a lot, or he had a bad day, or that she had deserved it.

She knew that she had someone who would help her get away if only she asked, her father. Maybe even Seth's father, but she didn't like to think about him because whenever she thought about him, she thought about Seth. What would have happened if she had given him another chance, would they be the ones married. Would she be happy?

No matter how hard he hit her she stayed with him, even though she no longer believed the reasons she told herself. She was too afraid to leave, because every time she threatened she would, he'd said he'd find her and kill her. So she stayed and would have probably stayed forever if not for today.

Her morning had started normal enough. She had dropped Marissa and Matt off at school, and worked on the house, trying anxiously to clean it to Zach specifications. When she didn't clean it good enough she got hit, and sometimes no matter hard she cleaned, he just hit her anyways.

Her kids had an early day so she had gone, picked them up, brought them home and that's where they were. Summer had unlocked the door and let herself in, she went to the kitchen ready to do more cleaning, before it was time to make dinner. That's when she saw him, he was standing in the kitchen and he looked angry. Cold dread seeped into her chest when she heard footsteps behind her, she looked behind her at saw that Matt had come into the kitchen. She made sure that she was between her husband and her son.

"What's going on here! I come home early to spend a little time with my wife and your not here! Where were you!"he yelled.

"The kids had an early day at school, I was just picking them up I swear." her eyes darted to Matt's, his eyes were confused, he was eight and Zach was usually much better at not doing anything to her in front of their kids. "Matt why don't you go to your room?"

"I'm hungry." she turned to face him and forced a smile on her face.

"I'll bring you something up Matt, just go up to your room." he looked between her and Zach.

"Okay." he said then walked out, she listened for his footsteps as soon as she heard them overhead she felt a little relieved, at least her son would get in the way and hurt. Now all she had to do was try to reason with him which rarely worked.

"Your a liar." he snarled. "You always lie."

"I was picking up the kids I swear. I have never cheated on her I will never cheat on you." she said begging him to listen to her.

"Your a liar and a whore." he punched her and she fell to the floor holding her stomach. She looked up, hoping that the hurting would be over, but he didn't have guilt in his eyes just anger. She closed her eyes tight, she was going to be hit again. He picked her up by her throat and Summer tried her hardest just to get a breath in, but he threw her across the room where she hit the wall with her back. She crumbled into herself on the floor. All she could hear was the blood pumping through her system, elevated because of her pain and fear. So that might have been how she missed it. When she opened her eyes, she saw Matt standing in between her and her husband. She tried to tell him to leave, but her throat was still raw and no sound was coming from it.

"Step away from her." Zach said.

"No." Summer wished she could move, but when she tried pain soared through her. She tried again to speak but she still couldn't.

"Fine have it your way." his fist descended on Matt and he fell to the floor. Zach squatted down in front of him.

"You don't understand Matt, your mother is a whore and whores need to be taught their place."

"Don't touch her." Matt said she could hear his voice tremble. Zach stood up and started walking over to her, she closed her eyes, this was the end. She opened her eyes after nothing hit her after after a few seconds. Her son was punching his back, her baby was fighting for her, when she should be the one fighting for him.

Anger coursed through her, he could hurt her all he wanted but he touched her son. Just then Zach swung him off, he was advancing on him, if she didn't do anything he was going to hurt him further, even though her body was broken, she forced herself to her feet. She limped towards them when her eyes fell upon the pole they kept in the sliding glass door to make sure no one could break in it. She limped over to it, picked it up and turned around. Zach was hitting her son and she had to stop him. She limped over to them and used all her strength she could muster to hit Zach hard in the head. He fell to the floor, blood was pooling on the floor around him.

Summer wanted to collapse but she had to check on her son. She limped over to him and looked him over. He had a black eye, that's all she could see at the moment, he was still conscious and scared, was obviously in pain from the way he whimpered. She fell to her knees.

"I'm sorry Matt, I'm so sorry, I should have left." she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." he said and her eyes teared up had had saved her, he had saved her life.

"You saved my life,we have to go before he wakes up, can you move?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes honey."

"Okay." he sat up gingerly. Matt got up on his feet he still looked hurt and sore. She got up as well, and they walked out into the hallway. She had thought about leaving many times before, and had even hidden a suitcase for each of them and some food. They walked/limped to the living room.

"Marissa!" she called. Marissa skipped down the stairs, she was only 5 but she stopped when she saw her and Matt.

"Mommy?Matt are you okay?"

"Yeah honey, we just got to go somewhere right away."

"Okay." Summer was glad that she wasn't fighting her.

"Honey will you go to the attic, and bring down the suitcases." she wished she didn't need the suitcases, but they had money that she had slowly gathered and food they would need it.

"What suitcases?" so much for that plan.

"I'll go get them mom." she wished she wouldn't have to let him, but she could barely stand and they had to get out of there before Zach woke up or they would all be dead.

"Marissa go get in the car."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"On vacation for a very long time." she looked around the room and seemed to notice they were missing someone.

"Why aren't we taking Daddy?" Summer meet her daughters eyes, and knew that she couldn't ruin her innocence today, by telling her the truth.

"We're meeting him there." she lied "Now go to the car." Marissa left and Summer wondered if she could go up the stairs, she tried going up the first stair only to find out that she couldn't. So she put herself between her son and his father. Seconds later her son was coming down the stairs, laden with suitcases. She lead him to the car and opened the trunk and waited till he put the trunks in.

She limped to the drivers seat and put the car in drive. She watched the house disappear in her rear view mirror. She had made a lot of memories there, not all of them bad, if she didn't kill him she would never be able to see this place again. She wasn't sure where she was going, as long as it was far away from here. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she had her son and daughter and she was free from Zach hopefully life would get better.

Review please but please don't flame:)

Disclaimer: Title references The song Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and I don't own Face Down by Red Jump Suit Apparatus.


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